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There are 3 simple steps to take if you want your video to go from an amateur level to a more professional look. They’re very easy and don’t take long to set-up before you press the record button. I am talking about:

Exposure

White Balance

Focus

If you know how to manually control these three things then you are on the right track to creating better looking videos. Exposure refers to the amount of light being let into the lens, white balance is a way to achieve the correct colour in different lighting situations, and focus is whether your subject looks clear and not all fuzzy.

Overexposed - The stones begin to lose their cracks and melt together

So when adjusting the exposure you’re basically controlling how bright or dark the subject is. You don’t want the subject to be underexposed, too dark, because then the viewer won’t be able to see them. You also don’t want the subject to be overexposed because it will become very bright and start to lose definition and turn into a blank slate. The rule of thumb when setting exposure is that if you’re unsure whether it is correct then it is best to be underexposed than overexposed. A video that is underexposed can be saved in post production but one that is overexposed probably is a gone’r. Most Professional cameras come with a setting called zebra patterns. These create little zebra like patterns on areas that the camera has deemed bright. When setting the exposure for a person the best thing to do is set the exposure so only a little bit of zebra patterns appear under the eyes and on the forehead. Voila now you got one thing on to then next.

White Balance Fail - Photo is looking a little blue

White Balance is another important thing to remember when you make a video. Not all lighting is the same, sometimes you can film under a bright sun, in the shade, or inside under house lights. No matter where you find yourself, make sure to set the white balance otherwise your video could turn out looking blue or orange. I won’t lie, I have made the white balance mistake and ruined some photos from my trip to Jordan. The best way to correct it is take a blank white piece of paper hold it up towards the camera where your subject will be and press the white balance button. Now the colours on the EVF and LCD should be closer to what we can see through our own eyes. Some cameras, Pictures ones, might only come with presets for different lighting situations which can work as well. Now that the white balance is set there is one more thing to remember.

Make sure that your subject is in focus and not a blurry ball, unless they asked you to not show their face in the video then it could work. This one should seem obvious, but sometimes we don’t realize that the focus has actually been set for something other than your subject. In my current class about operating ENG cameras I have noticed that people are setting their focus at a wide angle, but when they zoom in to their subject they’re out of focus. When this happens it can make the subject a bit fuzzy and this can make your viewers uncomfortable having to look at something that can be hard on the eyes. The best way to achieve a sharp focus is to set-up your camera where you plan on filming from, zoom in all the way on your subject and twist the focus ring until you have got a crystal clear image. When focusing on people it is best to zoom in on the eyes and focus on that part of the face because when the viewer is watching they’re probably looking at the subjects eyes. Unless the subject is a famous actress and the viewer is male then you might want to get better focus on another body part.

There you have it three very basic steps to getting a better looking video or even photo. My piece of advice is to take your time and get these settings right before you hit record. However if you do hit record and something was wrong then the best part is you can always stop and do it again. Unless it was your child walking for the first time then you’re out of luck and might want to practice beforehand. Before I end this I have one last very important piece of information that ties together with exposure, white balance, and focus. If the camera is picked up and moved to another place then there is a good chance that all three functions will have to be re-adjusted. If the lighting doesn’t change much from the prior spot then you probably don’t need to white balance, but exposure and focus should be adjusted.

Have a look at this short little video of the three problems you want to avoid when making a video.

The titles says it all, SHUT UP AND SHOOT…camera footage of course. Anthony Q. Artis gets down and dirty in this book and tells you the basics that you need to know in order to get out there and film that documentary idea you have been mulling about for years.

This book is mostly focused on documentary work, but it is an excellent read for any beginner videographer that just wants to learn the basics of what goes into making a video. The author covers pre-production, production, post-production, and distribution in a way that makes it simple for anyone to understand. This book is especially for those with a limited budget and how they can work around that in order to make the video happen. Q. Artis also uses many examples of what you can do when you don’t have the top of the line gear and you need to improvise with something else in order to get the shot. He doesn’t only talk about the technical side of things, it also includes how to handle problems with interview subjects, telling a story, choosing a location, and assembling a crew.

I finished the book recently and highly recommend it for someone starting out and wanting to really get a good grasp of the basics. The author, Anthony Q. Artis is coming out with another similar book focusing on freelance video work and I definitely will get my hands on it.

In one of my current classes we have been broken off into groups and must come up with an idea for a commercial. It’s a brief introduction into the creation process of a coming up with and pitching a commercial idea. We picked a product (Doritos) and came up with an objective, our target audience, the breakdown of the commercial, a punch line, and a rough shot list. We did a ‘mock’ pitch to our instructor on the idea and he gave feedback on how to really grab a company when pitching ideas and some things we could change to the commercial.

The idea is to have a bunch of guys over for the football game and there is a spread of food and a one bag of Doritos. Of course everyone wants the Doritos, there is a scramble for it, but turns out the host has more and everyone is happy because they have Doritos. The idea has been done before but we are still learning camera techniques and that is the main focus of this class is to get used to the camera, lights, and audio.

While I am on the topic of commercials here are some funny ones I found on Youtube that did their job creating a stir and getting many people to watch.

The other day I went for a drive to Harrison Lake on a nice clear, cold November day. Around Vancouver, the temperature is getting cold and the snow is creeping down the side of the mountains so I thought it would be nice to get out and enjoy a non-rainy day. I went for a drive to Harrison lake which was about an hour out into the eastern Fraser Valley. Stopped along the way at Kirby Park where all the bird watchers were out in full force looking for the Bald Eagles that come in vast numbers around this time of year. There was an eagle festival set-up along with eco-boat tours to get a closer glimpse of the eagles. However I was on a search for a very different kind of animal…thing. Harrison is known to be a place where Sasquatch or Bigfoot has been spotted and many of the local businesses have a Sasquatch theme. I decided to bring my camera and try to capture the elusive Sasquatch. I also got some practice with my camera stabilizer and enjoyed the snow capped mountains, golden coloured leaves, and a clear blue sky.

This is the budget friendly Steady Cam made by Hague Camera Supports out of the United Kingdom. Holding my Panasonic GF1 to record video just ended up being to shaky especially when I would try to do a tracking shot. I didn’t have access to a tri-pod when I filmed most of my videos and had to settle for the result of hand held shots. Well once I got home from traveling I looked into budget friendly camera stabilizers and the Hague MMC continued to pop up. After watching some test videos of the Hague online and reading a bit more about it I finally decided to make the purchase. I am one of those people that needs to carefully think out any purchase and look over countless reviews until I finally decided to buy it. There were a few other products that were similar to the Hague, but with my budget and the GF1 I decided the Hague was the best choice.

I ordered it online through the UK site and I believe the final price with shipping and currency exchange came to $150 (Canadian). The package arrived quickly and everything I needed to have smoother tracking shots was right there in the box. It is a nice small sleak black design that comes with a set of weights. I had a little trouble setting up the correct balance at first but I blame myself for not doing well at Physics in school. I ended up putting a bunch of weights on the bottom and that totally put the balance out of whack with my small GF1. I finally figured out that I only needed 2 large sized weights on the bottom and to center my camera so it wasn’t too far forward or back. If you have the camera too far forward you will notice it will start to tilt downwards and if it is too far back it will start to look upwards I also had to position the weights a bit off-center because my camera is heavier on one side due to the battery.

First tests with the Hague MMC have looked very good for a budget friendly camera stabilizer. The test shots aren’t perfect but that is only because I am still learning how to use it correctly. You need to have one hand on the grip and the other on a little knob to control the direction. I have very large hands and it can be a bit tricky for me to control the direction without bumping the rest of the stabilizer and knocking it out of control but I have managed to do alright. Don’t expect to go sprinting with it in one hand or pan quickly and still have a steady shot. It is meant for nice easy movements and that is what I was looking to get out of this affordable camera stabilizer.

Check out the cheesy video I made showcasing the Hague MMC, how to set it up, and some test shots along with awesome sales pitch music. Enjoy.

I can’t wait to get my hands on a Go Pro HD Hero 2, or at least attach one somewhere on my body. I am normally not one to impulse buy a product based on some flashy advertising, but after watching the Go Pro HD Hero 2 video on Youtube I have been sold. The video itself is approaching 3 million views (15 of which I think were me), so clearly I couldn’t be the only person dying to get my hands on one as well after watching this video. You can attach this camera almost anywhere you want, but it can also shoot at 120 fps allowing users to get some excellent Slow Motion shots (With the help of some editing software). Another feature making this camera all the more cooler is that it can be used to take still pictures as well and you can set it to capture some really sweet time lapses (Watch the beginning of the video you will see). The camera doesn’t just have to be a point of view strapped to the person, it can just as easily be used as a camera getting close ups while being held by someone else. I think the best example is at the 1:47 mark when the camera guy goes off the jump with the skiier and he is next to him in mid air filming his 720 or 900 or however many roatations he did. Try filming something like that with a larger camera, I am sure it would be much trickier. Also my props goes out to the video editor(s) for this job because the way they mixed the video to go with the music was what really got me into this video. The guys clapping, the shark chomping on the camera, the shot of the motorbikes in slow motion and you hear “we can make the world stop”. If I ever get goosebumps when I watch a video it probably means it was put together really well.

*Completely unrelated but I swear the red bull stunt pilot at the 1:10 mark looks exactly like the actor that plays Dan on the TV show One Tree Hill. I promise I don’t watch that show anymore, seriously.

It is amazing how these cameras just keep getting smaller and more powerful. Go Pro seems to be advertising towards the adventurous sports enthusiast but I am sure these things will be used for all types of POV shots. In one of my recent video production classes we were talking about how these types of cameras are more than likely going to be attached to some animal and we will see “A day in the Life” of a Polar Bear or a Giraffe. The Go Pro HD Hero is definitely not limited to just sports, check out this video of a couple guys spending a weekend in Stockholm from their point of view. Although you can see who they’re, the camera shots create the look that it could be you looking at this tasty meal or on this boat tour or shopping in this store. If someone is going on vacation but doesn’t want to worry about carrying around their video camera they can just strap one of these to their head press record and capture the moments of their trip and a whole bunch of people pointing and laughing at them.

*This video is of Stockholm but there is also one on Gothenburg, another city in Sweden. Perhaps someone watched their Stockholm video and thought their was potential in drawing tourism by creating a video like this.

I am looking forward to seeing more new and creative ways that people are going to use this type of camera. All I know is that the snow is slowly starting to pile up on the mountains around Vancouver and I want to get out and do some snowboarding with one of these cameras strapped on. Now if only Go Pro could come up with a new feature to help my snowboarding look less amateur and more Pro.